The global pharmaceutical Group Roche has awarded logistics contracts for Greece to Kuehne + Nagel. The two companies have jointly developed an environment-friendly logistics solution which can substantially reduce CO2 emissions.

Kuehne + Nagel transports temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products for Roche which have to be kept within clearly defined temperature ranges throughout the entire transport from pick-up to the customer (between +2°C and +8°C and between +15°C and +25°C). Usually, such products are transported by airfreight even over relatively short distances. For its business in Greece, however, the pharma company sought a more environment-friendly alternative which maintained the highest quality standards while at the same time achieving a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions.

Based on the logistics provider's own 'KN PharmaChain' product, the Kuehne + Nagel specialists collaborated closely with the customer to develop a solution that ideally fulfills all requirements. 'KN PharmaChain' is a Europe-wide overland transport service for pharmaceutical products.

The service is constantly further developed and expanded. It uses state-of-the-art refrigerated trailers which permit exact temperature control and efficient double-stack loading. The majority of the tractor units conform to the Euro-5 standard. The network, which is certified in accordance with Good Distribution Practice-Standards (GDP), guarantees an unbroken refrigeration chain in road transport.

In the solution that has been developed, the shipments originating from various Roche production plants are consolidated by Kuehne + Nagel and transported to Greece under temperature controlled conditions. Compared with air transport, substantially less fuel is consumed for the same distance. Furthermore, the passive temperature control packing, which was previously required, is no longer needed, thus reducing the volume of the shipment as well as saving packing material. As a result of these measures, the CO2 emissions are reduced by around 85%. The remaining CO2 is offset by a project of the organisation myclimate, which is being financed with a one-time payment by Kuehne + Nagel.

"The implementation of this project is the result of a close partnership in the fields of sustainability and green logistics," says Dirk Reich, Executive Vice President and member of the Management Board of Kuehne + Nagel International AG. "This clearly shows that Roche and Kuehne + Nagel do more than pay lip service to the protection of the environment," he adds.